


convince me (to stay)

by echoinglies



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Not really romantic, Post-Time Skip, Promises, maybe you could see it as romantic if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25859689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoinglies/pseuds/echoinglies
Summary: "You remember that promise we made when we were kids?" Sylvain spoke faster than his mind could think, and he knew exactly what he was looking for. A reaction. Something that would convince him that Felix didn't really want to leave. That one of his closest friends in the past didn't want to leave.Felix stiffened at the question, lowering his eyes away from Sylvain and almost seemed to shrink away from him slightly."Of course. I would never forget."
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Sylvain Jose Gautier, Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Sylvain Jose Gautier
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	convince me (to stay)

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this after I finished FE3H for the first time (golden deer route) after seeing THAT ending for them, and I never sat down to finish it until almost a year later. 
> 
> \--- 
> 
> song i listened to on repeat writing this:  
> life - mr. hong, mie

Sylvain Jose Gautier absolutely refused to die like this.

He had been through a war, suffered through ridiculously boring lectures by his family on the importance of the crest, worked harder than he thought he would have just to become a margrave, and yet, here he was, lying in bed with a cold.

A sigh left his lips.

The paperwork on his desk simply worked as a reminder that he had no time to sit around feeling sorry for himself. One of those papers held a small problem that perhaps, was growing into a large problem for Sylvain.

It began with a small disagreement between merchants over the proper price for certain items, which turned into verbal insults across the town square, and stolen goods from not just the two arguing, but every other merchant who set up shop in the area. This issue was hardly Sylvain’s priority or work, and yet he had somehow managed to take it upon himself to handle it. Sylvain had already mentally pinpointed the culprit. However, without explicit evidence, there was no way of knowing for sure.

Regardless, the issue needed to be solved soon. Sylvain did not want this part of town to be known to merchants as a town with thieves.

Sylvain narrowed his eyes at the ceiling. If only there was some way of spying on all the merchants’ doings without actually letting them know he was watching. That was the most difficult part. It would need careful plotting, and most likely an outsider. If the merchants knew the person watching, there would no doubt end up being trouble for the spy.

_If only. If only. If only._

The two words repeated like a mantra in Sylvain’s head. Even if there was a spy, what the hell could Sylvain do? Revealing any evidence at all would also mean revealing that he had used a spy to watch specific people for a specific amount of time, which in itself, was not a very polite way to go about things.

A rapt knock at the door made Sylvain sit upright quickly. As if he was going to let whoever it was see him in this wrapped-up state of shame and sickness.

“Just a second!” Sylvain flinched at the way his voice cracked at the end of his shot sentence, hoping that whoever it was, it was not going to be anyone important. Glancing at the clock, he made a quick assumption. Probably just one of the maids here to collect his bedsheets.

He turned the handle to the door and blinked.

Sylvain slammed the door shut as quickly as he had opened it.

“Excuse me?” Felix’s bored, and slightly insulted, voice crept through the wooden door.

Sylvain took a deep breath.

Five years. Five years since the last time he properly saw Felix. Five years since he had made face to face contact with anyone from his monastery days really. After they had all moved on from the monastery, they had all gone their separate ways. Some of them went extremely far, to different continents and Sylvain had shrugged off the thought of ever seeing them again. He was a busy man with many problems to deal with, and he had no doubt that they were also in similar situations. After all, the war was still not truly over. Not yet.

Some who left still wrote to him with letters of their journeys and happenings. The timings and the waits between letters grew longer, and sometimes they reached a point where Sylvain had forgotten exactly what they had told him or what he had wanted to tell them. Even so, the effort was there.

Communication is a two-way street.

Sure, it had been difficult, it was _still_ difficult to stay in contact with friends, even if some shared almost nothing in common anymore. No similar experiences, no similar likings, no similar anything. Contradictorily, these major differences became one of the things Sylvain found most enjoyable in hearing.

He would never admit it out loud, but being a margrave brought less entertainment than expected. In contrast, hearing other people’s stories of problems where they were, or even the latest gossip about who was doing what became very interesting to him. Much more than the problems surrounding him at the very moment.

Within three years, many of the friends he attempted to keep in contact with vanished, leaving him with absolutely no clue of how to find them at all. But that was alright with Sylvain. Keeping in contact with just a select few would be good enough.

Losing people did not hurt Sylvain at all.

The part that hurt Sylvain the most, and still hurt to this day, was the way Felix had darted off almost as soon as everyone had departed from the monastery.

Felix.

Childhood friend.

Gone.

It took a while for the news to even reach Sylvain. The news that Felix had dropped his noble title and went straight to the fight. To the smaller skirmishes surrounding Fodlan. Sylvain was unsurprised at this information. After all, Felix had always looked to where the fight was and had never thought about settling down. That was his life.

Sylvain had tried desperately to keep updated on Felix’s whereabouts. His biggest fear and the one that kept him up in the first couple years of not hearing from Felix, was that Felix would die somewhere on the battlefield, and no one would know. Even Sylvain would never know because Felix had never tried to maintain the friendship that they shared.

Sylvain had thought about meeting Felix again.

But in his imagination, it had been a cool meeting. Nothing involving the sick state he was in now. He would walk up to Felix, say hello, and somehow, miraculously, convince him to settle down for just once in his life and stop rushing off. And of course, Sylvain would flirt just a little like the good old days, and Felix would wholeheartedly agree and stay, and fix his problems, and apologise for leaving, and say sorry for leaving Sylvain completely alone with almost no one to turn to or trust.

That was one of the good scenarios

Sylvain stifled a sneeze as Felix coughed on the other side of the door.

“I don’t mean to be rude but—”

Felix’s voice abruptly cut off as Sylvain pulled the door open again, flashing the biggest smile he was able to, ignoring the slightly painful thump of his heart and the churning in his stomach. Sylvain eyed the shorter figure carefully.

Felix’s blue hair was still kept unkempt, and it was somehow still miraculously pinned into one top knot on his head. How such a small pin was able to hold it all together was a surprise, even to Felix himself. Sylvain bit his lip. Was feeling satisfied and content that Felix had not changed much an odd thought?

The only difference was in the way Felix carried himself now.

Felix from five or so years ago was completely certain of where he stood in the world. He walked tall, spoke words when needed, chastised and fought with almost everybody within sight, who he deemed worthy enough to train with. Of course, Sylvain knew that Felix really did care for everyone deep down, even if the raised eyebrow and disappointed face Felix put on made it seem different to everyone else.

The Felix standing in front of Sylvain seemed… smaller somehow. His eyes almost seemed to reflect a loneliness that Sylvain had felt in the recent years after leaving the monastery.

Sylvain didn’t realise he was staring until Felix cleared his throat again.

“Margrave Gautier? Sylvain?” Felix raised an eyebrow with obvious disapproval. “You know, when someone knocks on your door, it’s probably best not to slam it shut in their face right away.”

Sylvain felt a surge of anger immediately rush through him. Five years. Five years without saying anything, and Felix shows up on his doorstep, with not even a hello, not even an apology, but getting straight to business as though the memories they had of each other held no importance at all.

“I thought I told the guard not to let anyone in.” Sylvain choked out, struggling with all his might to keep himself from grabbing Felix by the collar and shaking him until he apologised.

“Someone sent a letter to a town over stating they needed a mercenary right away, so here I am.” Felix paused. “I was the closest one.”

Sylvain’s heart lurched at the thought of this. Maybe Felix had been thinking about all the same things he had. Maybe he had decided to travel through this specific part of town in order to see what Sylvain had been up to.

Sylvain shut his eyes, pained. If that was the truth, even Felix should have the courage to ask him how he was doing, right? Felix wouldn’t simply leave Sylvain with no contact at all. However, if he was coming to help him with this thieving situation…

“Come in! Okay, so how are we going to go about this? We sneakily steal goods from the merchants and see what they do? We set up our own stall as fake merchants and see what happens to our goods?” Sylvain’s eyes glimmered at the thought of some easy fun, but one glance at Felix’s confused face dropped his hopes.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Sylvain sighed. This day was definitely not turning out to be alright at all. Sure, mercenaries didn’t even deal in this kind of thing but…

“What are you here for anyways?”

“A lord hired me to settle some sort of skirmish close by. Apparently, I was supposed to report to you before—"

“Excellent!”

Sylvain did some fast thinking. Right, Felix was here for mercenary work. Felix was here… Was this fate? All Sylvain knew was that he wanted Felix to stay. He wanted to fight with Felix by his side once again and not have to worry about anything that happened.

“Help me.” Sylvain stated.

Felix’s eyes widened before narrowing with suspicion.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“There’s no way you want to play mercenary without catching up, right?”

“Sylvain, it’s none of your business what I’ve been—”

“Just listen, alright?” Sylvain raised both his hands pleadingly. “There’s a small issue of thieves and I just need a bit of help.”

“Sylvain, this is really not any of my concern. Your…” Felix paused as though struggling to find the right words. “Your _problems_ are none of my concern.”

Sylvain felt a small, but painful throb in his heart as Felix finished. Felix had looked away by now, his eyes tracing the bed that Sylvain had so quickly leapt up from despite his weak, sickly state. Sylvain swallowed. He had been given one opportunity, and to hell if he was going to let it go to waste.

‘Fine. Then what if I hire you? I’ll overrule whatever payment is being offered to you right now.”

“Sylvain.” Felix was disappointed. Sylvain could tell. It was the signature eyebrow up, slight downturn of the lips. His heart stuttered. It still hadn’t changed after all this time? A brief thought crossed his mind, that he wanted to make Felix pull that face at him at least one more time before he left. “You can’t be serious.”

Sylvain allowed a smirk to dance across his lips in response. Felix’s eyes narrowed.

“I. Am. Not. Helping.”

“Please?” Sylvain’s hands twitched, wanting to reach for Felix’s hands in an attempt to get im to listen to exactly what he had to say.

“What do you even expect me to do? Find dirt on every single merchant in this town? I was hired on a contract and I doubt—”

“I’ll overrule it. I’ll pay double whatever he’s offering you.” Sylvain stated calmly.

“I refuse to help you find dirt on whatever is happening here. Especially because it most likely involves sneaking around! What’s going to happen if we’re caught spying? On merchants of all people? What’s going to happen to _you_? Especially if whoever’s in charge of all the thieving is dangerous?”

“Aw, you care about me. I always knew you had it in you.” Sylvain shot a quick wink towards Felix, flashing a bright smile as he did so.

“Sylvain. I’m serious.” Felix’s eyes filled with concern now, and he shook his head before glancing away from Sylvain. “There has to be a better way than this.”

‘Well, what would you suggest then?” Sylvain asked, eyes filled with mischief as he leaned in closer to Felix.

“Why do _I_ have to suggest something, when you are the one coming up with this harebrained scheme in the first place?”

“Because you’re my—” He paused. He had almost been about to say ‘best friend’. _Old habits sure die hard_. “Because you’re my hired mercenary and I’m going to be paying you to get me out of any dangerous situation?” Sylvain placed his hands onto Felix’s shoulders forcing him to look at him, and ignoring the little flinch Felix gave at the sudden contact.

Silence.

Sylvain sighed before pulling away.

“Okay, fine. I promise, if you help me with this,” Sylvain paused. “I will never ask you for help doing anything stupid again.”

Sylvain regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. What exactly were the sorts of things Felix found stupid anyways? If he wasn’t asking Felix for help with anything, then there would no longer be any reason for Felix to stay. And if Felix no longer stayed, then…

Sylvain felt his heart drop at Felix nodding twice, in agreement to the conditions Sylvain had trapped himself in.

“Okay. You think of something by tomorrow. And I’ll tell you if it’s going to work.” Felix spun on his heel, heading for the door.

“Wait! Felix!”

Felix hesitated, his back still facing Sylvain.

“I do have a plan but it’s rough.”

“Go on.” Felix crossed his arms, turning to face Sylvain.

“I just need to peek at the merchants’ past sales recently. If I don’t find evidence of any wrongdoings or anything, then—”

“Your plan is essentially breaking and entering.” Felix summarised, a disappointed and agitated tone overtaking his voice. “You know that’s illegal, right? Just send all the merchants that are currently here away and call some new ones from some far-off land or something. Or, you know, just ask whether they’ve been doing any illegal stealing recently.”

“I’ve tried. Wrongdoers don’t exactly think they’re doing anything wrong you know? Like—" Sylvain paused. _Like Edelgard_. _Like Edelgard waging war and causing disruptions to all of their lives for god knows how long._

“Like what?” Felix asked, snapping Sylvain out of his thoughts.

“Nothing.” Sylvain responded quickly. “Anyways, this is where you come in.”

“Oh, I see. _You’re_ not the one breaking and entering and stealing. I am.” Felix sighed, exasperated. “I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to do this kind of thing as a mercenary. I’m just supposed to be on the battlefield. Besides, how are the merchants not going to know I’m rummaging through their paperwork?”

Sylvain cracked a smile. “Leave it to me.”

* * *

With Felix’s bright and speedy mind, and Sylvain’s cunning tactics at distracting the merchants as Felix dangerously struggled with his foot stuck in a crate, the crisis was averted. Felix found the evidence Sylvain needed to pinpoint the thieves, and all was good. Sort of. The problem was not completely over yet, but just thinking about the upcoming paperwork was already causing a drain on Sylvain.

Sylvain sighed once again, glancing at the wilting camellias in his garden out of the corner of his eye. If there ever was a better way to describe how he was feeling, it was with the flowers surrounding him. _Am I… in a slump?_

He hadn’t seen Felix since the findings almost a week ago. Had Felix already left without telling him?

“God, that’s so like Felix to—”

“Like me to what?”

Sylvain paused in his mutterings to squint up from his seated position to the figure standing in front of him.

“Felix!”

Felix’s eyes narrowed in response to the excited tone. Sylvain had to swallow a laugh at the familiar sight. Maybe some things would never change after all…

“I’m taking care of some business close by and decided to stay at the inn further down the road.” Felix stated matter-of-factly, choosing to look away as Sylvain’s eyes brightened.

“You know,” Sylvain began slowly, “my house always has one room empty. For esteemed guests, such as yourself.” He finished, smiling up at Sylvain. Felix’s response was simply a sigh, and a shake of the head.

“Sylvain. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that I’m not here to make friends. I’m here for a job.”

Sylvain leaned back. This shouldn’t shock him as much as it was doing right now. He had known since the moment he whisked Felix into helping him, that his time with Felix was limited. But still… For some annoying reason, he didn’t want Felix to go. Not yet. Not again.

“Come tonight for tea?”

“Night?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a meeting during the actual time for tea, so I figured maybe… you can just drop by the front door and tell them it’s me you’re meeting with—” Sylvain was rambling, he could feel himself pushing the words one after the other, desperate for Felix to say yes. He didn’t want him to walk away again. Just the thought of waiting longer or simply never knowing at all why exactly Felix enjoyed pushing people away, why exactly he’d cut all contact with Sylvain and everybody, if maybe, it was something Sylvain did…

“Fine. 8pm.”

Felix’s footsteps thudded on the stone pavement as he walked away.

Sylvain gulped, before a happy thought crossed his mind.

_He suggested the time._

* * *

Teatime was definitely something that should not be happening in the middle of the night, in Sylvain’s very own garden. But if Felix was hungry, then this was absolutely all he had. Cakes, biscuits, and two small chicken legs.

“Try some of the sweet stuff, please?” Sylvain held the cake directly in front of Felix, hoping desperately with all his might that Felix would simply accept his offering.

“Absolutely not. I still dislike sweets and you cannot change this fact.”

“But you can’t know unless you try it!”

“I already tried it before back at the academy, and I am absolutely certain, that my dislike towards sweets is still within me.”

Sylvain’s eyes went wide at this statement. “You tried eating sweets… without me?”

Felix’s frown grew stronger at this questioning, and he glanced briefly at the cake Sylvain was still holding out towards him. At this, Sylvain knew he had won. A bright grin dashed across his face as Felix tentatively reached out for a small tear of the cake.

Sylvain watched Felix’s face carefully, turning from one of disgust to one of clear acceptance.

“So?” Sylvain questioned, tossing the rest of the cake back onto its plate. 

“Not bad actually.” Felix narrowed his eyes as Sylvain’s grin grew even bigger. “What did you do to it?”

“What! Don’t start accusing me of things straight away! I just… made it.”

Felix seemed to flinch at this statement, before he turned his gaze away from Sylvain completely.

“It’s quite nice.”

A silence followed. Sylvain felt his heart beginning to race. Back at the academy, there were definitely no silences whenever Sylvain was around. He had definitely grown within these past five years if there were proper silences between him and someone else.

Back when their friendship was still strong, Felix had never really let silence overtake a conversation either. He would always have something to say, although much of his replies were based on things that Sylvain had stated or done, which Felix always seemed to disagree with so heavily. Especially the girls…

“Do you miss it?” Sylvain asked, hoping for anything to get him out of this uncomfortable silence that he should not be feeling.

Felix’s briefly flittered through confusion, before understanding dawned in his eyes. He met Sylvain’s gaze pointedly. “You mean life at the monastery?” Sylvain returned the statement with a small smile. Good to know that Felix still knew exactly what he was talking about and latched onto in a conversation. “Sometimes.”

“Me too. I absolutely miss being able to fool around a little bit without everyone hanging over my head as though they know what I shouldn’t be doing.” Sylvain turned his gaze towards the night sky and closing his eyes as a slight breeze weaved its way through the garden.

“Sylvain?”

“Yes, Felix?” Sylvain’s cheeky grin had returned to his face almost immediately at the sound of his name. It certainly had been a long time since anyone had even bothered to call him by his name in a questioning, chastising, or lecturing manner and Sylvain had forgotten how much he had missed it. More specifically, how much he had missed _Felix_ saying it.

“How much longer do you think I’ll be staying here?”

At those few words, Sylvain felt his heart shatter for not the first time since their reacquaintance. Did Felix ever know just how much his words stung? Would he ever know?

“Hey, hey, I thought you said you’d stay and help me see this through to the end.” Sylvain ignored the throbbing rushing through his entire body. Did Felix want to leave already? Was he not being a good enough host?

“So just until the end of this… problem?” Felix waved his hand to emphasize the word problem, as though Sylvain didn’t need to know that it was a poor excuse of a problem. As if Sylvain didn’t already know that there really was no need for Felix to stay anymore, after having given him the solution to deal with the problem.

As if Sylvain needed to be reminded that despite everything he wished for, despite the silent prayers he had given on nights just like these, Felix would still search for life fulfilment somewhere else. Sylvain swallowed. _If only he could stay and live life in just a few moments. Just a few…_

“You remember that promise we made when we were kids?” Sylvain spoke faster than his mind could think, and he knew exactly what he was looking for. A reaction. Something that would convince him that Felix didn’t really want to leave. That one of his closest friends in the past didn’t want to leave.

Felix stiffened at the question, lowering his eyes away from Sylvain and almost seemed to shrink away from him slightly.

“Of course. I would never forget.”

At this, Sylvain’s mind almost exploded. If Felix never forgot then why would he leave him with no contact? Why would he ditch his position as a noble? The questions continued to churn within his mind, and the shocked expression must have come through clearly on his face as Felix also seemed to build up a wall. Felix’s face slipped back into its nonchalant look almost as quickly as the insecure one had appeared.

“But then again, we were kids. Kids make promises all the time without really knowing what they mean.” Felix paused, casting a quick glance over Sylvain’s face. “Or the lengths needed to keep them.”

“But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make good on a promise.”

At those words, Felix abruptly stood up and turned to leave.

“I think I’m finished with tea. Goodnight.”

Sylvain attempted to reach out for him, but stopped himself short as he noticed the rigid way that Felix was standing. And the brief glance in his eyes that absolutely meant that he knew exactly what he had done to Sylvain after all these years, but never spoke about it and still left.

“Right. I’ll get someone to pack this up then.” Sylvain’s words fell on deaf ears, as Felix had almost sprinted away from him as soon as he had stood.

Sylvain clenched his fist. He almost wanted to let out a scream at how unfair this all was. At how unfair the after effects of the war was. If the war had never happened, if he had never somehow convinced Felix to join his side, would he still be feeling this way? Would Felix still walk away from him in every single scenario?

* * *

It was the skirmish near the border that brought Felix back to his side after the failed teatime at night incident.

Sylvain should not have needed to get involved, but he wanted to see for himself the casualties caused by a small skirmish that should have been resolved ages ago.

Sylvain should not have been happy about it at all, what with the bleeding, gaping open wound in his right thigh. But how could he not be, when Felix was kneeling right down beside him in order to stop the flow of blood calmly and carry him back to get properly treated.

“Clearly I need you around.” Sylvain winced as Felix attempted to gently wrap his wound and stop the bleeding as much as possible.

Felix raised an eyebrow.

“You definitely need _someone_ around to help you stop making a fool of yourself.” Felix paused for a moment, as though to gather his thoughts together. “Honestly, you need the support.”

Silence filled the air once again as Felix continued to work. Sylvain glanced at him briefly, at the tired, slumped shoulders of Felix, at the way Felix’s hands almost trembled slightly despite the slow, calm exterior of Felix’s emotions.

“Quit.” The word left Sylvain’s mouth before he could stop them.

“What?” Felix did not meet his eyes, instead choosing to pat down Sylvain’s thigh to ensure it was secure.

“Being a mercenary. Fighting in fights that don’t involve you at all.”

Felix froze then. Sylvain saw it then. The brief flash of fear crossing Felix’s eyes, a widened gaze, and the hesitation in his answer, as though Felix was too afraid to even think about leaving. And then Sylvain realised something so important, that he didn’t know why he didn’t think of it before.

“You’re afraid.”

“Sylvain, I’m not—”

“You are.” Sylvain stated firmly, ignoring the way Felix’s gaze trailed to the dirt. “You don’t know what you are without a war. Without a fight.” Sylvain swallowed. “That’s not all you are. You’re not just a fighter. You can find something else without having to risk your life every single day—”

“That’s easy for you to say, Sylvain.” Felix spat out almost venomously. “You’ve had something, a position waiting for you at the end, whereas I have…” Felix’s voice trailed off as he clenched his fist, and swallowed, bringing his gaze up to meet Sylvain’s shocked expression.

Sylvain laughed dryly.

“Right, we’re just going to ignore my older brother’s escapade and all that trouble with me having the crest, the internal hatred between me and my family.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.”

Felix’s eyes widened at Sylvain’s response, before glancing away again, almost guiltily.

“Felix, I want you to know I’m being completely honest with you. You’re more than a fight. You don’t have to live your entire life on a battlefield just because you don’t actually want to…” Sylvain bit his lip, his mind racing to find the right words. “Because you’re not allowing yourself to actually settle down and step away to find what you can do, aside from fighting.”

A silence filled the air, and for once Sylvain accepted it. Knowing that this time, Felix was actually taking in his advice, actually thinking about what he had said, and maybe just maybe, he would choose to stay.

“Why are you going to such great lengths to convince me to stay?” Felix’s voice murmured, and if Sylvain hadn’t been paying attention, he would have completely missed the question.

Sylvain paused then, mind wandering.

Why was he asking Felix to stay so desperately?

“Because you’re my friend.” Sylvain replied.

“Is that all?”

Sylvain quietened, looking over Felix’s still crouching form next to his still injured leg, that was no longer in critical condition at least. Clearly, Felix was searching for something. Something that Sylvain still didn’t know the answer to yet. What exactly was Felix searching for?

“Because you’re…” Sylvain trailed off. Saying ‘best friend’ seemed too trivial to what Felix was insinuating. “Because you matter a lot to me and I care about you.” Sylvain finished.

Felix looked at him then. Looked at him properly, almost searchingly, before he sighed quietly. He stood up stretching a hand out to help the injured Sylvain to his feet, and allowing Sylvain to sling his arm over his shoulders to help him walk.

As they began trudging back, Sylvain could not miss the opportunity to open his mouth jokingly.

“Does this count as a hug?”

He felt Felix’s short burst of laughter as Sylvain almost leaned entirely into Felix to ignore the slightly throbbing pain within his leg. He ignored the way he intentionally leaned in as though to feel Felix’s laugh, and hear it better. Putting those thoughts into the back of his head as fast as possible.

“I’m not unprepared to drop you right now and leave you to crawl back the final few metres.” Felix replied, although Sylvain could hear the slight smirk behind his statement.

As they arrived on Sylvain’s doorstep, the door opened to a shriek and an exclamation of rushed panic as the medics came to assist Sylvain despite his insistence that it wasn’t as bad as it looked, and most of the blood wasn’t his anyways.

“Sylvain.” Felix called, just before Sylvain followed the medics into his doorway. Sylvain turned slowly, an eyebrow raised questioningly. “Did you really mean what you asked of me?”

Sylvain gave a once over at the Felix standing in front of his house. A vulnerable gaze despite the steadiness of it.

“God, Felix. Of course.” Sylvain turned to head back inside, but not before a thought crossed his mind. He turned his head to face Felix. “There’s a possibility that I’m just being selfish, but I want to be. Just this once. If it means you won’t walk away again.”

Without waiting for a response, Sylvain limped through the doorway shutting the door gently behind him, before burying his face in his hands. Sometimes he wished he would think before he spoke. What was he _doing_ telling Felix the vulnerable parts of him? The thoughts he’d thought about telling Felix so often in the years between the death of Edelgard and now seemed to slip out so much easier when Felix was right in front of him.

Sylvain almost wished it didn’t. Not because he felt unsure, letting himself completely open to Felix like that, but also because he didn’t want Felix to think he’d been all he thought about for the past few years. Even though that was the truth.

As he limped slowly towards the room for the injured, his mind raced. What was going to be Felix’s response to his statement? What if Felix chose to leave anyways? What if he continued to be a mercenary despite the toll on him?

What if he chose to stay?

* * *

Felix came to visit the next day.

“Sylvain.” He’d deadpanned before he’d even entered the room, and Sylvain knew exactly who it was from the tone of voice and the weight of his footsteps.

Sylvain placed his second soup of the day back onto the table beside him, not trusting himself completely with holding a bowl of hot soup and listening to Felix’s answer at the same time. There was a silence as Felix glanced briefly at Sylvain’s quickly healing leg.

“How’s your leg?” Felix politely asked, although Sylvain could see from the tense shoulders and clenched hands that this was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

“It’s fine.” Sylvain stated. This time, he didn’t want to be the one to open up and lead Felix into the conversation. If Felix really wanted to stay, or if he didn’t… then Felix would have to be the one to say it. Only then would Sylvain know that it hadn’t been a moment of weakness from Felix to give into Sylvain just like old times, and only then would Sylvain believe that it really was Felix’s choice. “I can actually stand and walk around, but they’re forcing me to stay here until it’s completely healed.”

Another silence.

“Sylvain.” Felix started.

“Felix.” Sylvain responded cheekily.

“I think…” Felix paused, as though trying to find the right words to say about the situation. “I think I might stay in the area for a bit. Just to figure things out.”

“You know, my house has an empty bedroom for esteemed guests such as yourself. And I’ll even offer it less than what you’re paying down at the inn.” Sylvain smiled.

“And how much is that going to be exactly?”

“Free of charge.” Sylvain grinned.

“Fine, I’ll stay. But only so you’ll stop annoying me about it.”

Sylvain’s grin spread across his face before he could stop it, and he dragged Felix straight into a hug. Felix froze, before relaxing in Sylvain’s grip and gently placing his arms around him. Sylvain let out a short laugh.

“If I didn’t know any better, I would assume you’ve never hugged someone before.” Sylvain laughed, feeling Felix relax against him slightly at the sound.

“Be quiet, I’m already embarrassing myself as much as possible by returning your hug.”

“Right. We’ll totally get in more practice with the hug so we both get to be comfortable next time.”

“Next time?”

Felix almost seemed to shiver slightly in Sylvain’s grasp, and Sylvain let out another burst of laughter before letting him go. Felix met his gaze, before sending a small smile Sylvain’s way, encouraging Sylvain to pretend faint in response, his hand still lightly gripping Felix’s.

“Oh, be quiet!” Felix retorted, although the lack of annoyance on his face made Sylvain’s grin widen further.

“Can’t. You’re exceptionally good looking when you’re happy.”

“So are you.”

Felix let out a small chuckle as Sylvain blushed and choked on his words. Maybe some parts of Felix had changed after all, for the better. Sylvain couldn’t wait to find out the other parts of Felix that had been altered over time.

“I’ve missed you.” Sylvain quietly murmured, his hand squeezing Felix’s slightly.

“You don’t have to miss me anymore. I’ll be right here.”

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to follow me on instagram (@athereaz) to yell with me about things!


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